Shoe.



No. 696,030. Patented Mar.- 25, I902.

H. P. FDUHUE.

SHOE.

Application filed July 30, 1901.

(No Model.)

Jfiinesses: .fnveniqr: I m 6% by 217 9? m owns anes 20., pummumd, wnsumnmw. u. c.

TTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY P. FOUQUE, OF BROOKLYN, NElV YORK.

SHOE.

SPECIFECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,030, dated March 25, 1902. Application filed July 30, 1901. Serial No. 70,242. (No model.)

To all 2072,077 it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY P. FOUQUE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to boots and shoes, and more particularly to certain improvements in those shoes having a slit or opening in the top designed to facilitate the easy application to and removal of the shoe from the foot, usually closed by a lacing and which are gencrallyknown in the art as Balmoral shoes. Such shoes as generally made have the foot-opening located at the front, and this opening is usually closed or covered beneath the flaps of the shoe by a thin piece of leather generally secured to the vamp by the usual vamp-seam in the manufacture of the upper and also usually secured along one of its edges to one side of the upper, such protecting-covering being generally known as a tongue. Thesetonguesaregenerallymade of some thin leather, and as heretofore made much care must be exercised in smoothly adjusting the tongues over the instep and around the ankle, and generally no matter how much care is taken in its adjustment it is caused by the lacing, which extends from side to side and engages the eyelets and hooks on opposite sides of the foot opening, to pucker up, causing much inconvenience to the wearer, oftentimes resulting in the formation of blisters over the instep of the foot. Furthermore, these tongues are often carelessly secured to the n pper during the process of manufacture and when improperly placed fail to extend far enough across to cover the openings of the eyelets on one side or the other of the shoe, often exposing the stocking of the wearer through the eyelets, resulting in an unsightly appearance of the foot.

It has been proposed in the prior art to remedy the defects heretofore noted by forming the tongue of a lace-shoe in two parts, one part being secured to one side of the upper and the other to the other side, such parts being of sufficient width so that when the sides of the upper are drawn together by the usual shoe-lacing the outer edges of parts of the tongue will overlap along the longitudinal medial line of the instep and ankle. This construction, While remedying some of the objections, was not entirely successful, for the reason that it was formed of the usual single layer of thin leather, and thus required nearly as much manipulation to secure its proper smooth adjustment as the single tongue.

The object of the present invention is to produce a divided shoe-tongue so constructed and arranged that it will practically of itself become smoothly adjusted to the instep and ankle of the wearer without the exercise of any extraordinary care in lacing the shoe and will be of a substantial character calculated to afford substantial protection to the foot of the wearer along the instep and ankle between the edges of the upper.

To the above ends the present invention consists of the improved shoe and tongue, which will be hereinafter described, and pointed out 'in the claims.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a top plan view of a Balmoral or lace shoe with my improved tongue applied thereto. Fig. 2 shows in plan View one member of the shoe-tongue in full size removed from the shoe and having a portion cut away to disclose the internal stiffening. Fig. 3 shows the stiffening removed from one part of the tongue.

Similar reference-letters will be employed throughout the specification and drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, a, shows a shoe comprising the usual vamp b and the tops 0 and (1, pro vided along their forward edges with the usual eyelet-holes and hooks 6, arranged to receive a lace to close the foot-opening, as usual in shoes of this character.

M y improved tongue fis formed in two parts 9 and h, the part g being secured by a line of stitches i to the side 0 and the part it by a line of stitchingj to the side d and when thus secured are arranged to overlap along the longitudinal medial line, as shown clearly in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The lower ends of the members g and h are fastened securely by the Vamp-seam 7t.

Each member of the tonguefconsists of a top or facing m,of suitable leather,and a backing of leather or other suitable material n, the parts being united along their edges by the seam or scams 0. A pocket is thus formed in which is placed the internal stiffening p, as showuin Fig. 2. The pocket preferably stops short of the end of the tongue, leaving a thin flap g at its lower end, the bottom of the pocket being formed on an inclined line, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, and also shown in this figure, each member of the tongue is formed on curved lines, so that when properly adjusted it is to a certain extent shaped to readily conform to the contour of the instep and ankle of the wearer. This ready adjustment or conforming of the members of the tongue to the instep and an-. kle of the wearer is facilitated by the internal stifieningp, which preferably consists of some thin but flexible material, having sufficient stiffness, however, to maintain the members of the shoe-tongue in extended position. The material which I have used and found to be readily adapted for the purpose is celluloid, and in order to facilitate its conformation to the instep and ankle the outer edge of the stiffening p is slit or cut, as shown at r, such slits extending inward nearly to the inner edge of the stiffening, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

Vith the tongue properly secured by the seams Z andj and the vamp-seam 70, as shown in Fig. 1, and with the shoe-lacing properly engaging the eyelets and hooks it is only necessary in order to secure the proper overlapping and what may be termed the automatic positioning and adjustment of the members of the tongue to the instep and ankle to draw upon the lacing, drawing the parts of the upper as closely together as may be desired.

By forming the members of the tongue, as described, with'the internal stiffening it is found that they will under ordinary circumstances and conditions maintain an extended position and will readily overlap and conform to the instep and ankle Without the exercise of any extraordinary care on the part of the wearer and that, furthermore, all objectionable puckering and displacement of the tongue are effectually prevented.

Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. Alace-shoe provided with a divided shoetongue secured to the opposite sides of the foot-opening and arranged to overlap along the longitudinal medial line, each memberof said tongue being provided with a pocket and a flexible stiffener located in said pockets, substantially as described.

2. A lace-shoe provided with a divided shoetongue secured to the opposite sides of the foot-opening and arranged to overlap along the longitudinal medial line, each member of said tongue being provided with a pocket, and an internal flexible stiffener located in said pockets each stiffener being slit from its outer edge toward its inner edge, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, HENRY P. EoU UE.

\Vitn esses:

THos. CAMPBELL, MICHL. BENNETT. 

